Nightmares
by DeadlyFandoms
Summary: (Whouffaldi / Clara and the 12th Doctor) Clara has started having haunting nightmares that invade her sleep and send her into a state of fear an exhustion, her only hope is to talk to the the Doctor but will he like what her nightmares are about? [IN PROGRESS - NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP SOON!]


**Authors notes: **Hi! I know, I know, another Whouffaldi fic! Don't worry there will be other fandoms coming back, Hunger games will probably be the next one! :D  
>But I really hope you enjoy this, it may not seem like it but I've worked so hard on this, I'm in the middle of my mock exams and I've been doing this for weeks instead of revising.<p>

(It's in chapter so it's not just one long fic broken up into chunks, it seems easier to read that way.)  
>Please let me know what you think of this! :D<p>

**Nightmares**

**Chapter 1**

As Clara's eyelids ripped apart she jolted up impetuously into a rigid and upright potion. She let out a loud shriek and the cupped her mouth, terrified that the Doctor would hear. Her breaths were deep and heavy and her forehead with dotted with sweat. Her fingers twisted around the duvet like wild vines winding around a tree trunk, retched and curled. She continued to breath at an alarming pace until her chest aches and it felt like her heart was splitting in two. She released her grip and fell backwards - lying deep into the mattress and trying desperatly to relax but her attempt was pointless.

She sighed several times. She'd never had any kind of nightmares like these before, and it was typical she'd have them whilst sleeping on the TARDIS. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest, they were painful beats the made her curl up and sob. She had seen horrible things, scarring things. Images of sheer terror and they'd left her with a palpable sense of trepidation.

She had witness visions of death, suffering and torture, each one created by her own mind; like it was working against her. She tried desperately to sleep again; tossing and turning violently beneath the blankets, but ever time her eyes closed the revulsion and the horror slowly seeped back into her mind and the sight would fling her eyes open again. So she just lay in the blackness, staring at nothingness trying desperately to either sleep peacefully or to forget her night terror.

**XXX**

Clara only drifted in and out of sleep and woke up late feeling blotchy and exhausted. She dressed quickly and made her way to the TARDIS console. Of course, the Doctor was already there, flicking through the tatted pages of one of his many books. The books he had too many of, or as he would probably tell you, the books he didn't have enough bookshelves for.

"Morning Doctor." She yawned tierdly. The Doctor shut the book quickly and studied her from a distance. Clara looked back at him with confusion that was graced with a slight smile. The Doctor moved down the stairs and put his face in front of Clara's and started intensely at her feature. Child-like curiosity smothered his face. "Yes Doctor?" Yes questioned as he stared at her. Her ran the tip of his index finger underneath her eyes.

"Those, right there, those…grey things under your eyes…what're they doing there?" He kept looking at her eyes, just looking.

"I…uh…I didn't get that much sleep that's all."

"No." Said the Doctor sternly as he spun away from her and practically danced around the console.

"What?"

"Before you ask the answer is 'no'" Clara became clueless.

"What do you mean 'The answers no'?"

"I'm not giving you any sleep patches to help."

"I wasn't going to ask for any." Clara almost whispered.

"Good, because I wasn't going to give you any."

"Well this has worked out perfectly." She grumbled.  
>"Oh come one now, cheer up, don't let a lack of sleep put you in a bad mood…Where do you want to go next?" Clara sighed, and rubbed her eyes with her palms until her face was sore and once her face was open again she smiled at the Doctor with a new forced sense of enthusiasm that she was determine to make genuine. The Doctor realised this and returned a little smile of his own.<p>

"You know what? Surprise me!" She beamed.

"Surprise you? I'm not sure I can anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous, come on Clever boy, give me some planets!"

**XXX**

Clara and the Doctor bolted through the TARDIS doors, breathless and sweaty. Clara collapsed against the console and looked at him with wild eyes.  
>"Doctor, please tell me what part of your over-crowded pudding brain thought that dinosaurs would be a good idea?!" She questioned loudly.<p>

"I felt bad about what happened in Victorian London." He reasoned pathetically with little breath to spare.

"Okay, fair enough, I don't think an angry pack of raptors was the right sort of redemption to go for."

"You're in one piece aren't you?"

"Barely!"  
>There was a large thud against the TARDIS doors and Clara gasped. The Doctor twirled around the console and began to frantically flick switch and stab buttons - taking care not to harm the TARDIS. Thunderous noises filling the air, the stray banging from the outside of the TARDIS stopped and they could both finally relax.<p>

"Are you sleeping here tonight?" Questioned the Doctor as he flicked through the pages of one of his over-read books.

"Might as well, it makes things that little bit easier."

"I supposed you're right." He replied - his eyes fixed on the tiny print that caressed the pages, each one contributing so greatly to the story he held in his hands.

"Unless of course the TARDIS has 'misplaced' by bedroom again." She added with a charming smile. The Doctor looked around the walls.

"I'm sure she hasn't, not this time." He looked back down at his book. Clara shook her head and smiled, his child like awe over the stories he'd read a thousand times had become amusing to her, but in the bets possible way, in almost an adorable way.

"Goodnight!" She called back to him as she disappeared down the hallway, he didn't reply, not because he didn't want to, but because once again his attention was roped back to his book. Clara shut the door as soon as she got into her room, she may only had suffered her night terror once before, but the fear from it was so real and true that it was enough to make her dread sleep. It made her want to keep her eyes open forever. She sighed to herself.

"Come on, stop being stupid and get it together." She muttered angrily to herself. She changed quickly and slipped underneath the covers. She stroked the soft blankets with her finger tips and let the cool air sooth her. She closed her eyes, slowly let her head sink into the pillow and breathed deeply as she tried to imagine peaceful images. Maybe her dreams would be calmer tonight. Maybe she wouldn't dream about the Doctor's anger and suffering again.

**XXX**

_Clara sat bolt upright again with another scream, her forehead was dripping with sweat and her breaths were violent and loud. She cried slightly, not fully knowing why. Her door was suddenly flung open and the Doctor rushed inside her room, his face smothered with worry. _

"_Clara are you okay?" He said in a panicked voice._

"_I'm having nightmares Doctor…Nightmares about you." Clara sobbed. The Doctor moved over to Clara confidently, took her by the shoulders and allowed her to step out of her bed. Clara's breath was taken away when the Doctor unexpectedly crushed his lips against hers. Clara froze with surprise and began to speak as the Doctor planted hard kisses down her neck. The touch of his lips was cold agianst her heated skin.  
>"Doctor…stop…please." She breathed. Although his touch was comforting she felt tense.<em>

"_I know this is what you want Clara." He growled. Clara didn't know how to respond, maybe she really did want this? Clara kissed him back with fiery passion, but this minute their lips touch a sharp hissing sound attack their ears and the Doctor pulls away with a shrilling cry of could feel the horrfying sound tear through her ears._

"_Doctor?!" Clara cried out! She presses her hands against her cheeks and the hissing sound booms out again. The Doctor collapses to the ground crying out with sheer torture. Clara looks down at him in horror, was her touch burning him. Like her skin was acid to him._

"_Stay away from me!" He shouts angrily through the hands that cover his face. She could hear the Doctor cry loudly - a sound that shattered her heart to fine dust. She could feel the ache in her chest and the tears flowing from her eyes and when the Doctor's hands sifted away from his face she felt like death hand punched her in the stomach. His face and exploded into pussy red sores…they had almost covered his entire face, like it was melting away into nothingness. Clara screamed out in sheer terror._

Clara almost fell out of her bed as she was released from the nightmare, her cry of terror was louder this time and her tears flowed for longer. Never had the fear in her dreams felt so real. She grabbed her pillow and buried her face into it - letting the tears smothered it's soft surface. She felt tortured by her nightmares, like a mental trauma and she didn't no how much longer she could survive this. What if they never stopped? But what if they meant something?

Clara had to admit that she did still feel something for the Doctor, she did love him but she didn't know in what way…but her acidic touch, was she scared of hurting him? Leaving him? She thought she'd never leave him but then she thought of how many people must have said that too him over the years, how many humans has he outlived? How many of his loves have died or been forced to leave?

She didn't want to be one of the ones to break him. She didn't want to add to his heart break. But maybe she couldn't prevent that from happening? But could the Doctor handle it? Was he strong enough to lose someone else? Was Clara strong enough to lose the Doctor? She'd never thought of that, she was the Doctor's best friend and right now he was what injected excitement and wonder into her lift.

Could she lose that? Would she be able to survive a life that revolved around normality? She didn't know and she didn't want to find out. Clara lay back again and tried to stop crying, what she had lived through in the dream was causing her to shake feverishly. It was a different kind of fear, one that was eating away at her mind and tormenting her. So she just lay there…she couldn't explain the sensation she was getting, no matter how many times she told herself that it was only a dream the visions returned and she kept seeing them as true.

But there was one thing on her mind, she didn't want to lose or harm the Doctor. It would completely destroy them both. She looked at her phone, it was late enough to get up, and so she did, she would rather face the doctor with sleepless eyes then face him dying in her dreams. Clara slumped towards the TARDIS console - feeling even worse then before…and probably looking it too.

"Another night without sleep?" The Doctor questioned and Clara nodded in response, but when she looked at him she almost laughed.

"Have you been reading that book all night?!" The Doctor was sat perfectly upright in his armchair flicking through the pages of his almost finished book. His eyes darted to hers for a minute and then back to the tatted pages.

"Perhaps." He muttered.

"How do you even stay awake that long?" He shrugged in response and then stood up - taking extra care as he left the book on the seat of his chair.

"So Clara, tell me, do you have anything in mind for today?"

"To be honest Doctor I don't think I'm up for it today…" She admitted tiredly. Confusion washed over his face.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…I'm not feel one-hundred percent today, so I'd like it if you'd just take me home….maybe I'll feel up for it tomorrow?"

"Okay…" He muttered with obvious disappointment. A few seconds later the TARDIS had placed itself in Clara's living room. "Let me know when…when you're feeling better." The Doctor said to her quietly.

"Sure." Clara walked hurriedly towards the TARDIS doors when -

"Clara!" The Doctor called out, she turned to face him."

"I….uh…I heard you screaming last night…and the night before. Clara's eyes widened and she bit her lip.

"Oh…"

"What's been going on?"

"Nightmares."

"Nightmares?"

"Uh-huh."

"What about?"

"I'm…embarrassed to say…" She muttered.

"I can help you." The Doctor said plainly.

"What?"

"I can help you." He repeated. He picked up his book and gazed at her with caring eyes. "This book I've been reading is about nightmares -" He put the book down again, "- I can help you." Unnerving silence crept into the room and hung over them like a thick blanket, it tangled itself around them and the tension in the atmosphere was palpable. Clara rubbed her eyes.

"I…uh, I dream about you Doctor." Her comment caused his attack eyebrows to rise.

"Me?" He echoed.

"Yeah."

"In what way?" Clara could feel the nerves rise through her body like cracks through thick ice and her hands shook to some extent. She thought that admitting this would never go smoothly so she decided to just say it. Just say it.

"In the dream…the nightmare you hear me screaming and you come to my aid…the you pull me out of my bed and you kiss me -" She didn't go into any further detail about that aspect…the Doctor just stood there, listening but not looking, "- I try to refuse but you don't stop and when I…when I finally kiss you back you collapse and scream in pain…because when I touch you it burns your skin and tortures you, I see you there and I want to help but I can't… -"

A couple of tears fell from Clara's eyes, "- And then your skins melts away and it's the most haunting thing I've ever seen…" The silence returned to the room, neither of them spoke or even looked at each other they just…stood there. Then the doctor did something he never thought he'd ever do, he wasn't even aware that he could do it…he moved over to Clara and snaked his arms around her shoulders to pull her into a comforting hug.

Clara took in a sharp breath as the action initially shocked her, but she eventually relaxed into it. The closeness was the best kind of comfort she could've asked for, she could feel her muscles melt away with her worries. She felt whole again.

"If you ever feel scared by your nightmares again I want you to tell me." The Doctor told her almost sternly, he felt somewhat to blame for Clara's suffering.

"Okay." Clara whispered into his chest. The Doctor placed the book into her hands and separated from the hug - leaving Clara feeling cold. "I think…I think I'm going to leave…for a few days until they stop…maybe if I'm not around you I won't worry as much and…and maybe they'll stop." The Doctor sighed - obviously not wanting her to leave,

"I think that would help you." Clara walked back to the doors again - even more reluctantly than the last timer. Her footsteps were heavy and leisurely, each one filling her with more misery than the last.

It felt like there was some kind of invisible force within the silence that was pulling them back together, preventing them from ever being too far apart, now Clara would have to break that bond, even if it was only for a few days. She turned at the final second and in a dull voice said,

"See you soon Doctor."

"See you soon." Was the reply. Clara left the TARDIS. The Doctor sat back in his armchair feeling a sudden sensation of emptiness, he cared deeply for Clara, more than he'd probably care to admit, but the old saying became apparent at this moment, _You never truly know what you have until it's gone._

The Doctor never realised how incomplete he felt without Clara, like such a huge part of him was missing. He rubbing his fingertips angrily against the worn leather until his skin was burning from friction. He got to his feet with a sense of sad determination and left. Just left Earth. He'd rather just let his TARDIS float around to it's own desire, he felt that the further he was from Clara the better they'd both feel. He picked up his book and started reading again through his teary eyes. He wanted nothing more than to help Clara, if he was causing her fear during the night, he wanted to fix that. He didn't want to cause her any pain.

**XXX**

**Authors notes: **The next chapter will be uploaded within the week! I really hope you enjoyed this, please leave a review and feel free to send my any fic ideas you'd like me to write! :D

Much love to all you amazing readers, I couldn't do this without you! xxx


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